OOTN ft my new Guess handbag...

With working in a handbag shop comes only one thing....an ever expanding handbag collection. I saw this one just before my birthday and was really lucky to have the money put into my account by my parents so I could get it as my birthday present! 

Kimono and vest - Cotton On (Australia)

Jeggins - Zara

Heels - Office

Bag - Guess (from Strandbags)

Necklace - Collette (Australia)

I went off Guess as a brand when they started to go too 'blingy'....totally not my style. I also think they increased in price considerable, and at the same time loosing their quality and getting cheap and plastic looking. I'm still a bit off most of their offerings but this little cuties popped up in work and I couldn't say no....anything that combines a long strap, turquoise and leopard detailing and small enough that I don't work up a sweat lugging it around on the hot Australian summer days is a winner in my eyes!

Loves

xxx

Review....The Body Shop Warming Mineral Mask...

I'm not sure if it's the odd changes in the weather over in Australia right now, but my skin is playing some horrible games with me. Not one to suffer with spots throughout my life, I've had some horrible sore red spots around my mouth and across my chin, and it's been really sensitive to most skincare that I've been using. I went into The Body Shop with the intention of getting the Vitamin E mask (something for sensitive skin) but was dubiously talked into trying this one out...

It does't dry to a hard, crispy finish like most clay masks, which means it doesn't strip the moisture out of my skin, and after one application (I use this twice a week) my skin feels fresher, clearer and my breakouts have considerably gone down! The best thing about this mask is, unlike most masks which cause you to break out shortly after using while it draws out the impurities, I didn't get any new breakouts after using it. 

If you like the deep cleaning feeling of a clay mask without that crispy dryness you get after the 15 minutes are up, I'd highly recommend this. 

What other face masks should I try?

Loves

xxx

My thoughts on Inglot....

So I mentioned in a previous post that my boyfriend took me to Inglot to choose some makeup for my birthday last week. It was the first time I'd experienced an Inglot store and I first of all have to mention how incredibly friendly and helpful the sales assistants were in the store I went to (Chermside in Brisbane, Australia). 

In case you don't know about the Freedom system palettes from Inglot, basically you purchase a palette from a range of different sizes (I went for 5) and then fill them with blushes, concealers, lipsticks, eyeshadows, basically whatever you want in whatever colours suit you. I played it safe with eyeshadows and here's my pick...

A shimmery pink shade, and a completely matte pinky peach which looks great as a crease colour.

An incredible peachy gold shimmer which looks like the eyeshadow version of The Balm Big Mama blush.

A shimmery brown that looks great smoked out through the outer third of the eye and up and above the crease, and finally a matte deep brown which is great to do a dramatic cut crease or use as a nice alternative to a black liner.

They give you a magnetised board to stick your shade selection to which lets you play around with the different shade combinations and the order you would like them in the palette, then just take this too the sales assistant at the end and she makes up your palette for you. Simple. 

The only one (tiny) downside of the system is that the shade numbers are on the back of the shadows, and I've seen and heard some horror stories about people getting the shadows in and out of the palettes so unfortunately I've not been brave enough and have no idea what shade numbers I have!

In terms of quality, the packaging is the best (in my opinion) of any brand, a nice sturdy magnetised case that's still streamline and slides into my makeup bag nicely! As for quality (considering the price) these are equal to Mac, however don't beat my beloved Urban Decay shadows.

Has anyone else tried Inglot makeup? What did you guys think?

Loves

xxx

Happy Birthday To Me...

Just thought I'd post a few snaps from my birthday, I had a great day full of surprises, cake, wine and generally getting spoilt rotten...

I woke up to a laundry basket full of presents 

The boyfriend got me an incredible Japanese teapot set with a selection of tea's....a girl can never have enough tea!

Of course what's a birthday without an epic double chocolate mud cake complete with giant white chocolate button?

My bestie from Rainbow Beach came down to surprise me with (more) cake and wine!

This awesome package came through the post from one of my besties I met and travelled with last year. She's now at home back in England now so sent a care package of all the things I was missing from the UK :)

So in general, a good day was had by all :) and I feel like a very lucky girl!

Loves

xxx

What's on my nails #2...

BYS in Ferris Wheel

Do you ever have those days when you wake up and feel like Barbie? Well wear this nail varnish and as soon as you catch a glimpse of your nails through bleary morning eyes while you're putting the kettle on, you'll think you were the girl herself. This is my ultimate Barbie pink girlie shade, and I love how it complements a tan as well as looking cute against pale skin. Not so in love with the formula but it was just a cheapy from the drug store next to my work. 

What's on your nails right now?

Loves

xxx

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Barely Branded...

I'll admit it, I'm lazy. I love the ease of sweeping a cream eyeshadow across my lid and generously applying a few coats of mascara before flying out of the door. That's where the likes of my Mac Paint Pots and Benefit cream shadows come in, but if there was ever a chance for a cheaper alternative, I'll take it! 

My first experience with the Maybelline Colour Tattoo's was the taupe shade and, well, I hated it. It was a horrible consistency, didn't blend well, and creased like a bitch. I gave them another chance and picked up Bad To The Bronze which is now my go-to everyday eye colour of choice, so when I saw yet another "me" shade sitting on the shelves, and in a shade conspicuously like my trusty Mac Bare Study, who was I to say no??

Barely There is a pinky gold champagne shade that I'd say is more on the golden shade of Bare Study. It does look great on the lid alone, but I've been in love with wearing it underneath a really shimmery pink shadow with a mid tone matte brown through the crease. All in all, a great easy to wear product, and a much cheaper alternative for Mac Bare Study paint pot if you're in the market for something similar.

What other shades do I need to pick up from this range?

Loves

xxx

Disappointing Products #1...

Quite a small selection of products for my first ever disappointing products post, but considering how much time I spend on YouTube, reading blogs etc I like to think I do my research before going out and spending any money on cosmetics these days. I'd rather be sure that I'm buying something worthwhile than just wasting money on crap.

I bought Maybelline The Falsies mascara because, I'll be honest, Tanya Burr loves it. That's usually a good enough reason for me to go out and buy something. The first thing that should have rang alarm bells for me was the wand; I usually like skinny plastic wands with spiky combs much like They're Real from Benefit. I didn't find this volumising at all, it gave nice definition to my eyes but I like really thick, exaggerated lashes and I don't think this delivered. 

The second disappointment was the Bliss Fabulips exfoliating lip scrub. Not living near a Lush, I was missing the benefits that their lip scrub has always offered me and felt the need to have one back in my life. I picked this up from the Feel Unique sale a few weeks ago and can honestly say, bring back my Lush scrub! It's a really oily, thin balm that sits on my lips and doesn't sink in, and the exfoliating particles are so sparse that I need to dig out loads each time I use this. 

What's everyone else's disappointing products at the moment?

Loves

xxx

Chermside collective haul, ft. Pop Tarts...

Expect lots of reviews coming up on some of these beauties! My first stop was Benefit to pick up a couple of re-purchases in the form of They're Real Mascara and Porefessional. I also picked up Stay Don't Stray no they've finally changed the packaging from a pump to a concealer wand like applicator. In fact, I spent a good 10 minutes discussing the benefits of this change, only to get home and realise she'd given me the old pump bottle. Annoyed much!?

I had a $50 Body Shop voucher and needed a new eye cream so picked up their Vitamin E offering. I love everything from the range so thought it was a safe bet. To make it up to $50 I also picked up one of their clay masks, I'm coming to the end of my current face mask so can't wait to give this one a go.

You have no idea how excited I was to see a Lush stand in the middle of the shopping centre...Lush is really hard to get over here! I am NOT loving my current lip exfoliator (more on that in an upcoming post) so picked up one of their trusty little pots in the limited edition Popcorn flavour, and finally bought their Big salt shampoo that I've wanted for who knows how long.

We found a really odd Japanese department store type shop, where everything was $2.80! I grabbed five pairs of lashes, and one of those weird applicator type things that I'm not convinced is any good but  at that price...why not!

My last big purchase came from Mac. I have so many 217 type brushes to blend and define the crease, but I felt my brush collection was lacking the in-famous 239 brush so I bagged one of those, as well as Mac Harmony to use as a contour (now I'm getting tanned I find contouring with bronzer just looks a bit odd) and finally a bright orange lip liner in What A Blast.

And, of course, when opportunity arrises, English sweets (Munchies) and some Pop Tarts are a must have!

I also went into Inglot for the first time in my life (heaven in a store!) but that's all a surprise for next week. Ty did snap me doing what I do best though...

So all in all, a good trip! 

Loves

xxx

Shopping OOTD...

I don't know about you, but when I think 'full day shopping' I think a) comfort and b) what's easier to whip on and off in the changing rooms. As it turns out I only tried on one dress the whole day, and came away with zero clothing items (and a bag load of cosmetic-y goodness). 

Dress - New Look

Converse - Office

Handbag - Urban Outfitters

Necklace - Colette (Australia)

Watch - ASOS

Rings - ASOS and vintage

Revlon Nearly Naked foundation

NP Set eyebrow kit

Ardell Fairies lashes

Avon supershock liner

Rimmel Apocolips in Stellar

I also love this dress with my flowery wedges for the evening. How else would you style it?

Loves

xxx

Summer shorts and t-shirt OOTD...

Denim shorts and a t-shirt is my go-to summer outfit choice, and as it's heating up over here it's what I've been reaching for more and more on a daily basis. 

T-shirt - market

Belt - New Look

Shorts - Myer (Australia)

Chain - Colette (Australia)

I can see my t-shirt collection slowly expanding from here on out.

What's everyone's go-to outfit at the moment?

Loves

xxx

Favourite lip products #1...

Lips are my thing. Lip products are the thing I have the most of, and will continue to buy until...well...forever. So I thought I'd try and bring you, one day a week, my favourite lip products of the moment to share with you what I'm loving and wearing at the moment.

First up, the Australis colour inject mineral lipstick. 

I love purple lips; Mac Up The Amp saw to this a few years back, and I've been collecting a good range of shades ever since. This one is a really blue based purple...although on my lips it seems to turn more pink based.

It wears really well throughout the day, although because the finish is glossy, don't expect it to wear that well because it doesn't. But still, the brand is fairly cheap and I think I picked it up on offer for around $5 so I don't expect too much. It's the first lipstick from the brand I've tried and judging by this one it won't be my last.

What's everyone else wearing on their lips this week?

Loves

xxx

You're gonna hear me roar...

Sunglasses & watch - ASOS

Dress - Ice (Australia)

Sandals - Aldo

I'm so into my maxi dresses at the moment....such an easy summer staple now the weather is heating up and I can't be bothered to faff around with picking outfits that look good and keep me cool. Also, props to my Aldo sandals I picked up in the sale before I came away to Aus...considering I'm not a 'sandal person' I've lived in them 

Loves

xxx

Top Tans...

It's coming into summer over here in Australia and, unfortunately, I'm stuck inside working everyday rather than working on my tan on the beach. But that's life. And that's why, I believe, they invented fake tan. I need to get bronzed somehow so I've turned to the bottle...

The Palmers Natural Bronze gradual tanning moisturizer is holy grail in my eyes. Yes it smells a bit strong (my poor boyfriend hates it) but the colour is so natural and wears the best out of any gradual tanners I've tried. I apply this twice a week (say Sunday and Wednesday night) with lots of moisturising and a gentle exfoliation on the days in-between. 

I can't believe I'm about to admit this but this is the first St.Tropez item I've ever tried. I know, I know, call yourself a beauty blogger.... I wouldn't say I was completely blown away with this considering the price tag (although I did get it on the Feel Unique sale) but it's a really subtle colour if I'm not wanting anything too dramatic. I actual find that if I apply this after I've been in the sun, it enhances my real tan while giving me a bit of extra colour in a super natural way. Also...smells really inoffensive for a tan!

Le Tan instant Fast Tan in Deep Bronze isn't so much 'Instant' but it's definitely 'Deep Bronze'. If I apply one layer of this at lunch time, by the evening I look like I've done two weeks in the sun and then some! It does transfer onto clothes a bit so probably avoid white but for a quick fix I adore this. If you shower then moisturise the next day, you're still left with a light bronze colour that looks perfect with a sun dress and sandals for the daytime.

What's everyone else's tan recommendations?

Loves

xxx